How Urgent Is Dry Rot?

[joko]

ive discovered i have dry rot in my house, caused by a leaking water pipe.

thats stopped now but the area under the carpet is soaking and wood is soft and spongy and has snapped in a few places - so far it seems to be covering an area of about 6 metres.
it is in a corner but it goes through to the room next door too - so about 3-4 meters in each room

the water has been stopped

obviously it needs treatment and fixing etc - but is it urgent?

can i leave it a while before i can get someone in?

problem is the rooms are basically junk rooms - full of many years of props and art equipment etc, and i am in the process of sorting them out and clearing a lot of it - but its slow going - i have hypermobility, asthma and carpal tunnel so it makes doing it a slow, difficult task

obviously until the rooms are sorted i cant really have people in to rip the floor boards up

can i just carry on as i am, at my own pace, until im sorted, or is everyday its getting worse and worse?

i have bleached some of the area so the mushroomy stuff is gone, but im sure not for long

will covering the whole area in bleach, halt the spread for now? until i am ready?

or is there anything else i can do to give me more time?

any thoughts?

many thanks for any help

[joko]

i know builders and timber merchants etc will obviously try to upsell etc because they want the job and want to charge, but i would like 'real' answers please - it is going to get done at some point soon, i just need to know how much time im likely to have

[bhg481]

Very urgent. You need to get it looked at ASAP.

[chanel5]

Sorry to suggest that the news is bad. But I would say if things have got to the stage of "mushroom" growth, it is likely that spores will have spread. These are miniscule and can float on air drafts or be carried on clothing. The fungus could take hold in the "healthy" areas of your house and the problem could be greatly multiplied.
I am not a builder, but I lived for 14 years in a rented Edwardian terrace where dry rot was rampant and I saw the devastating results of ignoring the problem. The landlord of that property thought he would wait until the authorities forced him to take action before he did anything - but he ended up having to rip up the floors and ceiling on three storeys because he tried to ignore what began as a small problem on the top floor.
I would say never ignore mushroom growth indoors. Take action now. Apart from the health implications for you, you are risking widespread damage in your home if you delay.

[jourdain2]

I'm afraid I have to back-up the other replies. You, sadly (rotten time of year) do have to take action quickly, it can spread like wildfire.

[KARL]

A week or two do not matter much, a couple of months is taking risks, longer than that is very unwise. The work will, if done correctly, involve treating large areas including beyond obvious deterioration. I suggest you have it done by a reputable contractor so that the guarantee can be relied upon for its entire duration. The likes of Rentokil offer insurance to take over on the guarantee's expiry.

[The Builder]

Dry rot needs a little moisture and a lack of ventilation. With a leaking pipe, you may well have "wet rot".
Dry rot spores are creamy-yellow in colour, whereas wet rot tends to be more greyish.

Remove affected floorboards and burn them as soon as possible. Then dose the area liberally with something like Cuprinol 5-Star treatment. That should deal with the immediate problem. Then, it's a case of keeping an eye on the area... looking for any further outbreaks.